Novel-novel oleh Jazzmeen

Zara POVThe column of green light punched through the ceiling with a roar that shook the entire wing of the palace. Stone and timber rained down in a deadly cascade. I threw my arms over my head as chunks of plaster and wood slammed into the floor around me. The mark on my chest ignited as if the light itself had reached inside my body and set every nerve on fire. I screamed, the sound lost beneath the larger tearing noise that rolled in from outside.Caius never let go of Darius. Even while the ceiling collapsed around them he kept his forearm crushed against his brother’s throat, blood from both of them mixing on the floor. “What did you do?” he snarled.Darius’s laugh came out choked and wet. “I finished it. The barrier was already dying. Now it is dead. Let the things outside come. Better the pack burns than you keep the girl.”Sera staggered through the falling debris, one arm still hanging wrong, and dropped to her knees beside the dagger. The weapon lay in the center of the gr

Zara POVSera’s blade held the glowing dagger locked in place, green sparks raining onto the floor between them. The warriors who had dropped through the broken window fanned out at once, engaging Darius’s men with sharp, efficient strikes. Steel rang against steel. Bodies slammed into walls. The room that had already been half-destroyed became a storm of violence.I still could not move. The two men pinning my arms tightened their grip the moment Sera appeared, but one of the newcomers slammed into them from the side. The pressure on my wrists vanished. I scrambled sideways on hands and knees, glass cutting my palms, until my back hit the solid leg of the overturned bed.Caius erupted from the pile of bodies that had held him down. Blood streaked half his face and soaked the side of his shirt, yet he moved as if the injuries meant nothing. He closed the distance to Darius in three long strides. Sera twisted her blade, forcing the cursed dagger wide, and Caius’s fist crashed into his

Zara POVThe green light from the dagger spilled across the ruined floor like spilled poison. Darius stepped fully into the chamber, warriors parting to give him space. The runes carved along the blade pulsed in a slow, hungry rhythm that matched the sudden throb beneath my skin. The mark over my heart answered it instantly, flaring with a heat so sharp I gasped and pressed both hands against my chest.Caius shifted sideways, keeping his body between me and his brother. Blood still ran down his arm in a steady dark line, yet his stance never wavered. “Put it away, Darius.”“Or what?” Darius’s smile did not reach his eyes. “You already killed the only person who could stabilize the barrier. The pack is hours from chaos. This dagger is the last tool Maren prepared. It will finish what she started.” He tilted the blade so the green glow washed over my face. “One clean extraction and the barrier holds. Your sentimentality ends tonight.”Cole recovered enough to stand behind his king, swor

Zara POVThe door exploded inward on the third strike, wood splitting and hinges screaming as the heavy panel slammed against the wall. Three warriors poured through the opening first, blades already drawn, followed closely by Cole. His face was set in hard lines of fury, eyes locking onto Caius with open hatred. Behind them more footsteps thundered in the outer chamber; at least half a dozen men had come.Caius moved before I could even scream. One arm shoved me farther onto the bed while his body became a solid wall between me and the doorway. A low, animal growl rolled from his chest.“Stand down,” Cole ordered, voice sharp. “The king demands the girl. Now.”“She stays,” Caius answered. The words were quiet, almost conversational, yet the air around him seemed to thicken. “Take another step and I will end every one of you.”Cole’s lip curled. “You already murdered the only witch strong enough to hold the barrier. Do you think Darius will let that pass? Hand her over and perhaps he

Zara POVCaius slid one arm beneath my knees and the other behind my back in a single fluid motion, lifting me from the cold stone as if I weighed nothing. My body jolted against his chest. The last traces of the spell still throbbed under my ribs, but the worst of the tearing sensation had vanished the moment Maren’s life ended. I buried my face against the side of his neck, breathing in the familiar scent of him while the corridor spun around us.He did not look back at Darius or the body on the floor. His boots struck the floor hard and fast. Servants flattened themselves against the walls as we passed. Trays clattered. Someone dropped a stack of linens. No one dared speak. Caius’s expression alone kept every question locked behind their teeth. Sera kept pace on his right, the locator still glowing faintly in her fist, her free hand occasionally brushing my arm as if to confirm I remained solid.We reached the private wing in what felt like half the usual time. Caius shouldered the

Zara POVI followed them out the door without hesitation, and for the first time since I had been brought to this place the fear of being seen did not claw at my throat the way it usually did. The corridors beyond Caius’s private rooms had always felt like enemy territory, places where a single wrong glance could end me, yet today something had shifted. The tracker in Sera’s hand glowed faintly as she led the way, and Caius walked slightly ahead of me, his presence solid enough that the usual terror of discovery simply refused to rise. Servants froze in place as we passed. Their eyes widened, trays nearly slipping from their hands, mouths parting in silent shock at the sight of me walking freely at the Alpha’s side. I felt their stares burn across my skin, but I kept my gaze forward, heart beating hard for an entirely different reason.The path the locator pulled us along wound through quieter wings of the palace until we reached a section that sat almost adjacent to Caius’s own quart